New Music to Listen to & Why by Jane Jansen Seymour - follow on Spotify @newmusicmatters

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Late Fall 2011 New Music Playlist

Here’s a new music playlist to indulge in before the
onslaught of holiday music starts dancing in our heads. Strong releases by Atlas Sound and The War on
Drugs provide the backbone while newcomers Future Islands and The Drums serve
as bookends. See notes below -- listen at link here, enjoy!

1. “Stay Gold” – The
Big Pink

English electro-pop duo The Big Pink has just released this
single from their second album due in January, Future This. The synth-heavy
sound lends itself to the dance floor, while the straightforward lyrics create
an instant sing along.

2. “Money” – The
Drums

3. “Days” – The Drums

The Drums are an indie band from Brooklyn. Singer Jonathon Pierce explained recently in
a KCRW interview how they like to write short, sweet, simple pop songs and certainly
shows in these two tunes off their second album, Portamento. Their somewhat derivative compositions are still hard
to ignore, especially with such earnest intentions.

4. “Speaking in
Tongues” (featuring David Byrne) – Arcade Fire

This is a bonus cut off the deluxe version of alt band Arcade
Fire’s recent release, The Suburbs. It
includes vocals by David Byrne, a natural nod to the Talking Heads who created
an entire album with the same title.

5. “Come to the City”
– The War On Drugs

6. “Come for It” –
The War On Drugs

7. “City Reprise” –
The War On Drugs

These three tracks are off the second full-length album, Slave Ambient, by
this indie rock band from Philly. Adam
Granduciel’s vocals call out over a traditional rock structure with synths to
bolster the texture of songs that quickly become anthems.

8. “Tell Me What You
Want” – Pajama Club

This band was formed by empty nesters Sharon and Neil Finn
(of Spit Enz and Crowded House fame) after their kids left home in New Zealand to
pursue their own musical passions. With fun,
funky undertones, the song off their first self-titled release is a sexy tribute to life after child rearing.

9. “Your Eyes” –
Bombay Bicycle Club

This song is from the third release by the U.K. indie rock
band, titled A Different Kind of
Fix. As the group continues to
polish and expand its sound, singer Jack Steadman’s earnest vocals keep things
grounded.

10. “Te Amo” – Atlas
Sound

11. “Mona Lisa” –
Atlas Sound

Atlas Sound is the solo project of Deerhunter’s prolific
musician Bradford Cox. These two songs are off the third release, Parallax, but Cox recently explained to
SPIN that he writes every day to fill a avoid, referring it to thumb-sucking. “Mona Lisa” features the vocals and piano playing of Andrew
VanWyngarden of MGMT.

12. “All We Ever
Wanted Was Everything”– MGMT

This Bauhaus cover was included in a mix album, Late Night Tales: MGMT, recently
released by the alt band. It is a loving
tribute in a compilation of “post-punk, cult indie and counter-culture
figureheads” as hand picked by the group.

13. “Somebody That I
Used to Know” (featuring Kimbra) – Gotye

This newcomer to the U.S. scene is the stage name of
Belgian-Australian Wouter “Wally” De Backer, a multi-instrumentalist
singer/songwriter. His international flair is making waves for
this folksy tune with New Zealand singer Kimbra, a stinging musical attack on
an ex-lover. The song is off Gotye’s latest release, Making Mirrors.

14. “Balance” –
Future Islands

15. “Where I Found
You” – Future Islands

This band from Baltimore took inspiration from the Outer
Banks of North Carolina for their third full-length release, On the Water. From the sounds of waves
to rolling melodies, these two songs tug at the heartstrings with singer Samuel
T. Herring’s emotive vocals.